This invention relates to electrical clamping connectors. More specifically, the invention relates to such connectors wherein the clamping member is driven by a screw and the clamping pressure is applied at right angles to the axis of the screw.
Electrical devices, such as electrical switches, are generally provided with a wide variety of wiring terminal structures to accommodate different application requirements. These terminals may comprise wire wrap posts wherein a conductor is wound around and soldered to an essentially square post projecting from the switch base, screw type terminals wherein a conductor is trapped between the head of a screw and the flat surface of a blade terminal, spade terminals consisting of a flat male blade projecting from the switch for receiving a push-on female connector affixed to the wire conductor, press-in connections wherein a bared end of a wire conductor is inserted into a hole in the switch housing to deflect a resilient tab which locks the conductor firmly into engagement with an internal terminal member of the switch, and pressure clamping connectors, sometimes referred to as pillar terminals, which receive the bared end of the wire conductor in a hole in a conductive member and clamp the conductor therein by a screw which intersects the hole and forces the conductor end firmly into engagement with a surface of the terminal member within the hole. Occasionally a switch designed to provide for one type of termination cannot readily be adapted to accept a different type of termination. With respect to the pressure clamping type connector as aforedescribed, the common type has the end of the screw bearing axially against the side of the bared end of the conductor, but some switch designs prohibit location of the screw such that its axis will intersect the conductor, or the space available for such connector is severely restricted. Connectors are known which are designed for special applications wherein the axis of the screw and the conductor do not intersect, these connectors generally employing a lever system upon which the screw operates to pivot a clamping member into clamping engagement with a conductive member connected to the switch. While these designs are effective for their intended applications, this invention relates to an improvement thereover.